NOTES AND QUERIES. I 09 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



Afforestation of Privately-owned Lands. 



The Board of Agriculture for Scotland has issued the 

 following memorandum outlining proposals for the afforestation 

 of land in private ownership : — 



" The Development Commissioners are prepared, within the 

 limits of the funds available, and subject to Treasury sanction, 

 to recommend advances to the Board of Agriculture for Scotland 

 for approved schemes of afforestation of land belonging to 

 private owners. In order that as much as possible of the 

 available funds may be spent in actual planting, the Com- 

 missioners hope that landowners desiring their land to be 

 planted may be willing to secure this by mutual arrangement 

 under which the afforestable land will be leased to the Board on 

 the principle that no return is to be paid for the use of the land 

 until the proceeds of afforestation accrue, and that then these 

 proceeds shall be divided between the landowners and the 

 Board according to the proportion which the rental value of the 

 land bears to the sum provided by Government for afforestation 

 and maintenance. Any agreed contribution by the landowners 

 to capital expenditure would be taken into account in the 

 allocation of the proportion of proceeds, and also the present 

 value of any growing timber crop included in the leased area. 



" It might be convenient that this proportion should be fixed at 

 the outset according to the present value of the land rental, and 

 of other contributions which the landowner might desire to offer, 

 on the one hand ; and, on the other, to the sum estimated to 

 be necessary for the afforestation of the area, and to the present 

 value of maintenance charges during the first forest rotation so 

 far as provided by Government. 



"All land leased on a proceeds-sharing basis will be held for 

 periods to be adjusted with the Government Department con- 

 cerned as lessees. It will be dealt with under the prescriptions 

 of a working-plan compiled by the Department in consultation 

 with the owners, and at the termination of the period of such 

 lease the landowner will be under obligation either to purchase 

 the Government share of the standing crop or to continue 

 the lease. In this connection the value of immature crops 



